When we decided to go on our first family camping adventure, we admittedly knew next to nothing about planning a camping trip. If we had known even a little bit, we would have known better than to wait until 3 days before the weekend to try to book a camping site… in the North Carolina mountains… in the fall. Whoops.
Turns out camping in the NC mountains on a crisp fall weekend is high on many people’s list of things to do. So when my husband called the camp site he had carefully researched to make a reservation, they tried hard not to laugh at him. They had been booked solid for weeks.
But there is always a Plan B! After more research and more calls, he was able to secure a camp site reservation at Morrow Mountain State Park in Albemarle, NC. Located east of Charlotte instead of west and in the Uwharrie Mountains instead of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Morrow Mountain State Park seemed to have plenty of availability. But we were undeterred by its seemingly inferior location and apparent lack of popularity. For a single night to test out camping, it looked perfect.
So on a Saturday afternoon, we packed up the car with our sleeping bags and cooler and headed to… Target. I told you this was our first camping trip! We literally ordered a tent online the night before and picked it up at Target on our way out of town.
With all the necessary gear, we made the hour and a half drive to Morrow Mountain State Park. The park offers 106 tent/RV campsites, spread around 3 different loops. We had a camp site in Family Campground Loop A. Their website reservation system has a really handy map where you can click on each individual site and see its amenities, including information such as amount of shade and proximity to drinking water. Each site in our loop appeared to have a nearly identical setup: a tent pad, a picnic table, and a fire pit.
We arrived around 3:45 (check-in is technically 4:00 but the site was empty) and briefly checked out the campground area. We wanted to take advantage of the remaining daylight and go for a short hike. We headed over to the trail map and a helpful park ranger gave us an overview of the different trails available. We all decided that the Rocks Trail was the one for us.
There are 11 trails in the park, ranging from easy to challenging. The Rocks Trail is an easy out and back trail for a total hike of 2.5 miles. The turnaround point is the Pee Dee River, and the trail gets its name from the 35 foot rock outcrop that overlooks the river at the trail’s end.
The website describes this trail as traversing “mostly mature woodlands”. The wide gravel path at the start becomes dirt and narrows slightly as you continue, but it is clear and well worn. The trail offers plenty of shade as it cuts through the forest. There were a handful of rolling hills but they were easily managed. There were a lot of downed trees, which my youngest found to be an endless opportunity for exploring.
We were immediately struck by the condition of the woods around us. It looked as if a fire had raged through here. Trees were down everywhere and there were charred tree trunks and branches all around. After much googling on our drive home the next day, I determined that this was the result of prescribed burns that are used as a way to protect forests by reducing undergrowth that is susceptible to wildfires. Over the past few years, the park has had prescribed burns covering area ranging in size from 600 and 1,650 acres. Though I was glad to learn the fires were intentional and controlled, it still left the woods looking decimated and sad.
The Rocks Trail runs together with the Long Loop Trail for a good section. The Long Loop Trail is both a hiking and a bridle trail, so you may run into some horses out there. Whether you see a horse or not, you will definitely see evidence of them on the trail. The boys found it endless amusing to have to navigate around huge piles of horse poop. (The parents, not so much.) So watch your step!
We made it to the end of the trail and the boys were excited to see that the “big rock” of Big Rock Trail involved a steep downward climb to reach. And warnings signs! Those always make a hike more exciting.
The Pee Dee River peeked through the trees to give us a sneak peak of the view from the rocky lookout.
The climb to get down to the viewpoint was rocky and steep (which the boys loved!). The view from the bottom was pretty. It certainly doesn’t rival the postcard views you get in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but it is pretty nonetheless and a nice reward at the end of the trail. The rocky outcrop is large and flat and juts out into the water a bit, giving you a neat place to relax and take in the views before heading back.
Of course, you have to climb up to get back to the trail. It was tricky for the kids in a few spots but they conquered it.
Out and back trails aren’t my favorite in general, especially when there aren’t any scenic views on the trail itself. But this was still a good family hike. The trail had some variety to it, both in elevation and surroundings, and the kids loved climbing the rocks at the end. Easily accessible from the family campgrounds, it was exactly what we were looking for to round out our camping trip.
After our hike, we were ready to set up our camp site. There was a small driveway right next to the site so we could back our car up and easily unload it. It didn’t take us long at all to get our tent up and the fire started. It is amazing how easy tents are to set up these days!
The boys tossed around the football and then we cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows.
Before we knew it, it was getting dark (and colder). We got ready for bed. (Never having been camping before, I can’t really comment on the quality of the facilities other than to say it was about what I expected and we all skipped showers that night. Lol.) We played some games and cards in the tent and then turned in.
(Note for first time campers – we got a 6 person tent instead of 4 person and still used all the room. We had two air mattresses and two sleeping mats with sleeping bags. The air mattresses took up a lot of space and made it a little hard to maneuver around inside. We were really glad to have the extra space so I definitely recommend going up a tent size, especially if you plan to use air mattresses.)
Although there were posted quiet hours, we did have a problem with a few loud tents nearby. One group was loud earlier in the night, making it hard for the kids to fall asleep. Another even louder group woke us up in the middle of the night. Sound carries when you’re sleeping outside so a few loud people can really affect your ability to sleep. But despite that, I’d say we all slept decently well. I had pretty low expectations for my sleep and it turned out better than I had expected.
Morrow Mountain was a perfect starter camping trip for us. It was close, logistics were easy, and it had everything we needed for a fun, quick trip. Our younger son is super outdoorsy and was the driving force behind this trip. Our older son was a somewhat reluctant participant. They both ended up having a great time and wanting to plan another trip in the spring. Definitely a successful first camping trip!
